Merlin's second secret
by Mgrover
Summary: What if Merlin had a secret that even Gaius didn't know? What if that secret was revealed when a king arrives at Camelot? Previously titled what Merlin hides besides his magic. My first fic read A/N for more.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer I don't own Merlin or any other property referenced in this fic

 **A/n** This is my first fic so please it might not be very good so please no flames

Chapter 1

"Come on Merlin," says Hunith, as she tries to pull the five-year-old away from the crowd gathering around the King Urian's royal procession. Hunith knew that they needed to get away from the king before Merlin could accidentally display his powers because King Urian was known to take sorcerers of great power into his court. If he found that Merlin was so powerful at such a young impressionable age she shuddered what would become of her little hawk. But Merlin didn't know that all he saw was a wonderful parade that was fun to watch that his mom was trying to take him away from.

"Why mommy, Will gets to stay and watch why can't I?" Asked Merlin digging his heels " I want to see him too!"

" Because he will take you away and then mommy will never see you again you will have to live with him and never come back to Elador. Is that what you want?" Hunith was getting desperate now the king was getting closer.

" No, I don't want to leave you, mommy." Said Merlin he grabbed his mother's hand and she started to lead him away.

" Halt peasant!" Yells one of the knights with the king "The king wishes to address this village!"

Hunith immediately starts to consider her options, she could keep walking and hope that one lowly peasant and her son weren't worth pursuing or she could stop join the crowd keep a tight hold on Merlin and stay out of sight. She decided that staying was less risky as long as Merlin could stay quiet so she started walking back to the crowd. It was a decision she would regret for the rest of her life. Once they were back in the crowd she began to listen to the speech still clutching Merlin's arm.

" I'm here to collect men and boys to train for my army." Announces king Urian "It is a wonderful chance for your sons to be kept warm and well fed. In addition to the fact that the pay is quite spectacular and can be arranged to be sent back here. In fact…"

" What right do you have to are sons we live in Cenred's lands" interrupts one brave mother

" Yes, that's right Cenred may not be a kind king but he doesn't come and steal are boys!" Cries another. The crowd was uneasy now shifting and whispering like the sea, bumping into one another.

"SILENCE PEASANTS!" Shouts the king he had been trying to make this seem as if he was looking for recruits but he wasn't. King Urian was going to leave this village with ten boys whether they wanted to go or not. " I tried to make this easy and let people choose to go but now you leave me with no choice, GRAB THE MEN!"

In response to their king's orders, they charged grabbing at men and boys and hauling them back to their horses. The villagers scattered left and right grabbing their families and running for the woods.

Merlin, off balanced by the sudden jerk on his arm as his mother pulled him away and the bumping of the crowd, tripped and fell. His magic rushed to his aid and his eyes glowed gold he suddenly halted floating near inches from the ground. Merlin was only floating for a second before he realized what he was doing and told his magic to drop him but the damage was done.

The king had seen and immediately stopped and shouted: " GRAB THAT ONE HE HAS MAGIC!"

" NO" yelled Hunith " NOT MERLIN! NOT MY SON!"

As the soldiers surrounded Merlin he shouted and they were all blown back by the sheer force of his magic.

" MOMMY" screamed Merlin as he ran towards her not noticing the blow aimed at his head. Then *THUD* and Elador dissolved into black.

And one shivering twenty-year-old warlock awoke from his nightmare in the court physician's chambers in Camelot.

 **A/N** Like it? Hate it? Leave a review as I said this is my first fic so constructive criticism is welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer I do not own Merlin or any other property that is referenced in this fic

A/N thanks to everyone that reviewed their much appreciated anyway on with the fic

Merlin sat up and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, it had been awhile since he dreamed about that day and what happened next… No! He won't think about it, he won't he has to concentrate on his destiny. Things were playing out, Arthur was nearly king and the knights of the round table had been formed maybe soon they will unite Albion maybe soon Merlin could stop hiding his true self. But for now for sleep to prepare for yet another day of hellish chores and training, so slowly Merlin drifted back to the realm of dreams and memories.

_linebreak_

As little Merlin slowly awoke the first thing he realized that he was draped over the front of a saddle next he noticed that he had a gag in his mouth and a pair of cuffs on his wrists. He tried to wiggle so he could see his capture but when he started to move he heard a shout and the horses came to a stop. Merlin was trying to think of another way to move when he was suddenly jerked upwards by a pair of rough hands. He looked up to see one of the knights heaving up and off of the horse.

" Up we come now boy the king wants to speak to you." He said as he half led half carried the boy closer to the king. Merlin gazed around at his surroundings carefully taking in everything. He saw many knights bearing the colors of King Urian sitting astride horses, but scattered behind them with their hands chained together were men, mostly from his village but there were a few faces he had never seen before, who looked dead tired. With a start Merlin realized that their chains were attached to saddles of knights and that the men were being made to run behind the horses, Merlin dearly hoped he wouldn't have to do that he would never keep up. Finally, they reached the king at the front of the column Merlin was stood up straight in front of the king.

" Well here's the little sorcerer." Said King Urian " The power you displayed knocking back five heavily armed knights with simply a scream makes me wonder what else you can do." The king paused. Suddenly Merlin had an idea what if he used magic to knock everyone over then go home, so he tried to force out his magic when suddenly a sharp pain came through the cuffs on his wrists he screamed through the gag at the sudden excruciating pain.

The king laughed and said " You'll find that those cuffs block off you magic quite well so don't try any of your tricks, what is it your mother screamed, Merlin that's it. Anyway take him away I will question him further at the castle." With that, the king turned on his heel and walked back to his horse. Merlin had tears in his eyes as he was dragged back to the horse and draped over the saddle. He heard someone say to knock him out again then Merlin knew no more.

_linebreak_

Gaius gently opened the door to his wards room, as he entered he saw his ward tossing and turning in his bed obviously in the throes of a nightmare. Oh, Merlin he thought as he moved to shake his ward awake. The second Gaius moved Merlin sat bolt upright his hands shot out and a blast of unadulterated magic burst forth and knocked Gaius across the room.

As Merlin slowly came awake sleepily blinking the sleep out of his eyes he duly wondered what the crash was suddenly he opened his eyes and took in Gaius groaning at the foot of his bed.

"Gaius" cried Merlin " Oh goddess, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, you were having a nightmare. Was it about Morgana again? Because you know you did what you had to do."

"Yeah about Morgana." Said Merlin feeling guilty. He didn't want to lie to Gaius but it was like with Arthur, Merlin didn't want to lie about his magic but he can't just go up to Arthur now and say hey, Arthur I have magic and I've been hiding it since day one. Merlin shook his head and quickly looked Gaius over for injuries, surprisingly there were none visible.

" Anyway, I was just coming up to wake you because you need to wake Arthur," Gaius explained

" Oh" replied Merlin lamely as he began to get out of bed. Gaius left and Merlin began to get dressed devising new ways to wake Arthur.

Coming down the stairs Merlin saw Gaius making him a sandwich for breakfast.

" Are you sure you're ok?" asked Gaius

" I think that I should be asking you that" responded Merlin laughing off the question when really he wasn't, he was concerned about why these dreams were floating to the surface all of a sudden.

" I'm fine, but are you certain you are?" Gaius asked again

Merlin sighed and said " Yes yes I'm good! Now I must wake Lord Prat of Pratonia, goodbye." And with that, he swept away with Gaius laughing behind him.

A/N Might be a bit slower than last chapter. Anyway,like it hate it leave a review just no flames


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Disclaimer I do not own Merlin or any other property that is referenced in this fic**

 **A/N I forgot to mention that this is an AU set post season 3 and pre season 4 so Lancelot is alive and Uther is indisposed**

" Rise and shine you great prat!" Exclaimed Merlin cheerfully as he ripped open the curtain "The sun is shining, the birds are singing and you as your father is … unable to perform his kingly duties you get to enjoy exactly none of it. In the morning you have a long, and i'm sure boring, council meeting about taxes or grain or something, then you must give a speech to the league of the coopers of Camelot and since you know nothing about barrels I wrote your speech" all of this was said very fast as Arthur groaned and rolled over away from the light of the windows.

" Shut up Merlin!" He said tiredly " You aren't aloud to be happy in the mornings I thought you knew that!" As he said that Merlin quickly crawled across the bed and stuffed the roll he was holding from Arthur's breakfast into Arthur's mouth.

" I said it once and I'll say it again! Get your lazy arse out of bed before I drag you out." Said Merlin seemingly quite hopeful that he would get to do just that. Seeing as the king made no further attempt to move Merlin walked over and dragged him off the bed groaning from the weight.

" You are getting fat from all that feasting sire!"said Merlin sarcastically

" mmnfet." Mumbled Arthur into the blankets

" Pardon me sire I believe only the blankets heard you." Said Merlin mockingly " Now would you pick your prattish face off the bedclothes and speak like an adult instead of a petulant child."

" I said I'm not fat idiot! And those are some strong words coming from you." Replied Arthur annoyed as he rolled out of his blankets to look at Merlin. When he finally looked at him all he saw was his manservant's idiotic grin, then it finally dawned on Arthur that Merlin merely said those things to force Arthur to turn over and face the sunlight.

"Up you get sire" said Merlin cheerfully as he tried and failed to pull Arthur off the ground. Arthur responded as expected and flicked a goblet at his servant's head.

After a few more minutes of playful banter and goblet flicking, Merlin finally managed to steer a fully dressed Arthur to his desk and laid his now cold breakfast in front of him. A few years ago Arthur would have shouted, picked up the tray and launched at the head of whatever servant brought it. But today Arthur just shrugged recognized that it was probably warm when Merlin brought it and started eating, mind you Arthur was filings away this event to use against his servant next time they argued but at least he was not throwing a tantrum.

" So" Arthur says carefully " what your saying is that i'm missing a perfectly wonderful day for council meetings and to give a speech to a bunch of commoners?"

"No, not entirely in the late afternoon you have to train with the knights." Responded Merlin just as carefully as if he'll was carefully treading through a minefield being very careful where he stepped. Arthur dropped his head to the table and groaned.

" It makes you feel any better, unless you assign me any other duties I have to sit through all of it to. Then to top it all off at the end of the day you get to use me as a practice dummy!" Exclaimed Merlin.

" That actually makes it better, knowing that you'll be suffering to does make it better." Responded Arthur only half jokingly.

" Glad to be of service sire." said Merlin dryly, and after looking out the window and seeing the clock tower(A/N I know there probably weren't clocks but just roll with me here) he quickly said "But Prat Face you better hurry up the council meeting starts in ten minutes and Gwaine is an annoying git if he gets there first." Arthur silently agreeing with Merlin quickly finished up and practically kept out of the room calling with Merlin stumbling along behind him.

_Linebreak_

After a long and utterly boring meeting full of long drawn out speeches by stuffy old men about taxes and grain production that nearly put Arthur and his knights to sleep, only kept awake by Merlin's shenanigans from behind the council members, came the reading of a equally long and boring speech that Arthur had to read to a group of commoners. It was finally time for the best part of Arthur's, except for maybe his time spent with Gwen,training.

Now for Merlin training was a different story. He HATED it for many many justified reasons spanning from the fact that he became a training dummy whenever he stepped onto the field to simply the bad memories it conjured, _no no don't think about that_ , and on this particular day it just became worse.

" Ok men, recently I've noticed that the training of a knight leaves out several important skills such as knife throwing so today we're going to cover it." Announced Arthur gleefully as he looked at the slightly doubtful faces of his knights. " And to show us how to improperly throw a knife well, MERLIN!" The last part was shouted suddenly Merlin head popped up from behind the bench where he had been polishing armor.

" Yes Arthur" replied Merlin hesitantly as he slowly got up and walked to ward Arthur. Several newer knights sneered at the hesitation Merlin was showing, but the knights of the round table merely glared at them understanding that Merlin had every right to be hesitant because he could never be sure at what Arthur would do next.

" Well Merlin if you had been listening instead of daydreaming or picking flowers or whatever it is you do in your free time you would know that wouldn't you?" Said Arthur patronizingly as he said this he saw Merlin's eyes drift away from his face and his servant go away to what ever world was inside his head so he said quickly "anyway you idiot are going to show these idiots how to not throw a knife!" And before Merlin could clue into what was going on he offhandedly tossed Merlin the knife. Arthur was expecting it to fly a little over Merlin's shoulder so he would have to run to pick it up, what he had not expected was for Merlin's hand to shoot out like a cobra and grab the knife handle first and bring it into a fighting position.

 **A/N ok so just going to say this, I'm not going to give you a scheduled release day each week because how long it will take me to write a chapter will depend on the chapter it will usually take me take me 1-3 days but others it might take a week if I have other stuff going on (but I doubt I will) so I just wanted to let you know to not expect regular updates.**

 **Anyway as always, like it? Don't like it? Leave a review just no flames**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **A/N I have two things to say:**

 **last chapter I know that Arthur isn't technically king yet but I'm just going to refer to him as such in people's thoughts, but if his title is ever said he will be called Prince Arthur**

 **2\. Magic is going to come into play soon and I don't know how to make up/know any canon spells so in the reviews could you tell me one or the other ,if I need any in this chapter I will likely just use Harry Potter spells and fix it when I have better ones so sorry if you have to deal with them.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any other property that appears in this fic**

It was so hot thought Merlin as he sat behind the bench polishing piles of armor and weapons. He could faintly hear Arthur prattling on about something or other to the knights, he wanted to listen he really did but he was so tired. Merlin jerked himself awake again just before he smashed his face into the breastplate he was holding, those damn nightmares thought Merlin viciously the little sleep he had gotten the night before hadn't exactly been restful. He could normally battle through the exhaustion but staying awake for the council meetings had taken its toll and then being dragged out into the hot sun and doing such a mind numbing task as polishing…

" MERLIN" he heard Arthur shout and he dragged his mind kicking and screaming out of the realm of unconsciousness

" Yes Arthur" Merlin said hesitantly what had he missed he said his eyes jerking back and forth between Arthur and the rest of the knights. He saw the new ones snickering, normally he would glare at them but he was just sooooooo tired. Merlin was starting to drift off again when he registered a knife slowly coming toward him and before he could consciously decide on a course of action his hand shot out and grabbed the handle as his reflexes had been trained to, he lowered himself into a fighter's stance ready to lash out at anything that came near. Then his mind caught up no no no no what had he done he had been fighting those impulses for years! How had his brain managed to fail him this once. Immediately as these thoughts registered he dropped the knife as if it burned him and tried to stumble over himself, but the damage was done.

Merlin looked up hesitantly at the faces of his friends they were staring at him in complete shock and said hesitantly "Beginners luck?"

 **A/N sorry this took so long and sorry it's so short life got in the way of writing unfortunately. Anyway as always like it? Hate it? Leave a review just no flames please!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **A/N sorry for not posting. I was trying to make this chapter longer than the last while still having quality writing. On another note you will see I have changed the name of this fic I hope you like it.**

The knights were speechless because this was Merlin who has no coordination or grace whatsoever. Merlin who trips and falls down a flight of stairs twice a week, Merlin who couldn't do anything else in a fight but hide. How could Merlin, while half asleep no less, pluck a knife out of thin air, much less instinctively fall into a textbook fighting position.

Then like the flick of a switch Merlin's air of grace fell away and he stumbled to the ground, but the trained eye of the knights saw the way he fell it was a controlled fall with a slight almost unnoticeable roll at the end to get rid of the impact. Now that they thought about it they only noticed the control because they were watching for it. Then Merlin opened his mouth and have the most feeble excuse the knights had ever heard.

"Beginners luck?" Merlin half stated half asked looking at each of his friends his eyes pleading for them to not ask questions. There they stood, Merlin and the knights one staring at the other in a silence neither was willing to break. They all had thoughts flying through their heads, Lancelot was trying to think of a better excuse or at least a way to get Merlin off the training field and away from questions because that had to be magic, right? Merlin didn't have any other physical skills, right? The more Lancelot thought about it the less sure he was. Gwaine was confused, he wasn't drunk today, Right? No no he had not drunk that much last night because he knew the next morning at the crack ass of dawn he had guard duty. Now how could what Merlin had done been possible he could barely walk down the halls wide awake without falling over and now here he was half asleep catching knives. WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON! Similar thoughts were going through Arthur's head they went about on the lines of this Merlin, knife, catch, no, not possible, clumsy rude servant Merlin, EXPLAIN. Leon, Elyan, Percival and all the new nights were just confused they didn't know Merlin that well, but they knew he was a clumsy and very rude servant who was forever gracelessly falling over himself and knocking everybody else over how could he catch that knife?

Now Merlin, Merlin was panicking. Merlin had been hiding his for years it hadn't come out yet it couldn't come out now there would be to many questions. Even his mother didn't know exactly what had happened in King Urian's court, the only people who knew were the people that were there and even then only a select few excepted him for it and he hadn't seen Galahad, Bedivere and Kay in years. As memories of three of his oldest friends flashed through his head Merlin was unceremoniously pulled into one.

_linbreak_

When Merlin awoke he was slumped at the base of King Urian's throne.

"Well well the little sorcerer has finally decided to grace us with his wakefulness." Announced King Urian scornfully, it was all Merlin could do to keep himself from quivering in fear. "Normally I wouldn't take a runt so young but that power you displayed. What I could do with you under my thumb." Continued the King almost hungrily "Somebody take the manacles off him and give him a cuff." A guard walked toward him and unfastened the manacles, but before Merlin could force any more magic out of his body a thick leather cuff was clipped around his skinny wrist, it was rather plain with a few Druidic symbols burnt into it.

"Outside of magical training that cuff will stay on your wrist. Normally somebody with such power would be put into my army but you are to scrawny for that so you will go where all the scrawny ones go. You will be entered and trained in the league of assassins. Take him away." Announced the King.

Merlin was then roughly pulled out of the throne room and marched through the castle. He was marched outside and across a small courtyard toward a squat building that had several other boys roaming around outside of it, the boys were all a bit older than Merlin for he was only five and they ranged from about seven to about seventeen. The guard pulled him past the other boys who were all looking at him a little sympathetically.

The guards marched him through the door and the they strode through a room full of tables and chairs with stacks of plates and cups in the corner that some younger boys were washing, Merlin assumed that it must be some sort of mess hall, to a door that led to a slightly cramped hallway. The hallway had many doors leading off of it, through some of the doors Merlin could see boys sitting on bunks they seemed to grouped together by age. Merlin was lead to the very end of the hallway and pushed through the door.

Merlin stumbled inside and looked around, it wasn't a particularly big room but it wasn't small either against the back wall there was a small table and wash basin full of water, next to that there was a medium sized wardrobe, next he saw three boys sitting on bunks staring at him. The boys looked to be around seven putting them in the younger group of boys Merlin had seen. All three looked different from the others the one on the bottom bunk on the left had reddish hair he was rather pale and looked to be quite short and skinny he had brown eyes that were sparkling madly, he was looking at Merlin intently as if he was thinking of the best way to prank him into next week. The boy above him was blonde and looked rather tan he was well built and looked to be about average height he had green eyes that where the other boys were so happy his were angry but at the same time quite protective, he looked like the sort of person that if you said anything even slightly mean to his friends he would pound you to the ground without much trouble. The last boy was on a bottom bunk as well, he looked about average, brown hair, brown eyes, medium height, medium build, not to tan but not overly pale, except for his eyes they were bright blue not only that that they seemed to bore into your very soul and judge your worth. The last boy jumped to the floor and walked toward Merlin slowly looking him up and down.

"What's your name kid? How old are you? Because you look younger than everybody else" He asked still examining Merlin

"I-I'm M-Merlin and a I'm five years old." Answered Merlin stuttering slightly he was playing with hands behind his back to hide the cuff on his right wrist.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Galahad, the blonde brutish one is Bedivere he'll warm up to you eventually, the little carrot top over there is Kay be careful around him because he might just cover your things in dirt if your not careful." Said Galahad extending his hand. Merlin stared at his wrist because there on his wrist sat a cuff just like Merlin's.

"You have magic to!" Burst out Merlin before he could stop himself, he thrust out his right wrist to show Galahad his cuff. Galahad's eyes widened at the sight.

"You too" he exclaimed "I thought I was going to be the only one in our age group. I mean some of the older boys have magic but I thought I was the only one under ten! No wonder the king took someone so young " He led Merlin to his bunk and they sat down the other boys looked at the two of them expectantly.

"Now I don't know how much they told you but I take it you know you have just been forcefully inducted into a league of assassins." Said Galahad "Tomorrow a uniform will be delivered and you training will start the only bunt empty is above me so this is where you'll sleep. Now, Merlin don't take this the wrong but I'm so sorry you're here."

_linebreak_

Merlin was jerked out of his kidnapping and and forceful capture down memory lane when a voice pierced the silence.

"HOW THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO THAT!" Spluttered Arthur

 **A/N sorry for the slight cliffhanger. I know that that in the legends Galahad didn't have magic but these are not the legends and he never appeared in the show either so I'm just using the names Galahad, Kay and Bedivere for my OCs. Also is it too far fetched for him to have magic I originally planned just for Merlin to have magic but it just sort of happened. I mean they always go into how Merlin is amazing because he had magic as a child in the beginning of the show but then they also have Mordred who can't be any more than twelve and most people write him as younger so I just figured it's ok. Final thing because I'm curious were you expecting Merlin to be trained as an assassin? If not what did you think would happen? Anyway as always. Like it? Hate it? Leave a review.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Disclaimer I don't own Merlin or any other property that appears in this ficA/N whoops forgot the disclaimer last chapter so I'll say it now I don't own anything in that chapter either, well except for Galahad, Bedivere and Kay**

Oh gods how am I going to explain this was the only thought running through Merlin's head after Arthur's shout. All the knights were looking at Merlin expectantly but what could he say, _oh sorry Arthur those were my assassin reflexes drilled into me after years of harsh training I won't use them anymore_ and then run away until Arthur realized that Merlin wasn't there on some long term assignment to kill him. Maybe instead he could say it was his magic but wait, that would give the same reaction Merlin would have to run away until Arthur decided not to kill him. So if the truth or the next closest thing would get him killed then there was only one thing for it, it was time to break out the lies. Despite what most people thought Merlin was a very good liar it was one of the many things he learned in his years in King Urian's court, the only problem was coming up with something that was even remotely possible. That's why people thought Merlin couldn't lie, because the only excuses Merlin could use were fairly ridiculous but today Merlin had something half decent he could use.

"Umm, well that's a slightly long story that starts all the way back in Elador." Started Merlin "Well, when I was about nine years old some travelling players came through our village. Amongst them there were several knife throwers, they were amazing they could throw and catch knives blindfolded. So my best friend Will and I decided that we would get just as good. ***** " Here Merlin stopped for a moment at the mention of Will as he remembered his death, he was going to start back up again when Arthur interrupted him.

"Wait wait wait, are you talking about got-shot-in-the-bandit-attack Will. Mr. I-have-magic-and-am-Merlin's-childhood-friend Will!?"

"Yes that Will Arthur!" Responded Merlin exasperated he was really hoping that Arthur would forget that part, he was going to start again when Leon added his two cents

"Wait, you were friends with a sorcerer! Don't you know magics illegal?"

"Of course I know magics illegal Leon in Camelot, but you see I was raised in Elador that's in Cenred's kingdom and he didn't really care what his villages did as long as we paid taxes. Either way Will didn't start practicing magic until later." Explained Merlin

"Oh" said Leon

"Now if you will let me continue" said Merlin he then waited a second looking around as if he was daring anybody else to interrupt, nobody did.

"Good, well you see these travellers stayed in the village for about a week and after their first performance will and I started bugging them to teach us. I was very surprised because the two men simply laughed and said yes, I was expecting to be refused. So for the rest of the week they drilled us in technique, stance and aim so by the middle of the week we could throw a knife and nearly hit the centre of the target about six times out of ten so they moved on to knife catching. At the end of the week they of course had to leave, but before they did they pulled us aside for a last lesson, after words they walked up to us and one said 'I have never seen two kids take up an art like this so well. It would be a shame to see such talent go to waste.' With that he handed me and Will a throwing knife each to practice with and said goodbye. We never saw them again but we did keep practicing, so many hours spent on practice as a child memes movements second nature so when you tossed the knife at me years of practice kicked in and I caught the knife." Explained Merlin, it was reasonably believeble so as long as he keeps his cool and sticks to his story nobody could disprove it, some may not believe it but as long it went over Arthur's thick head he was fine."Now if you excuse me I have chores to do unlike you privileged fools." With that Meelin turned on his heel and walked away before any of the knights could poke any holes in his story. As he settled back into polishing armor his thoughts returned to his little episode on the field, sure soon after he had escaped he had had nightmares but those were mostly about his kills and they had stopped years ago. The question was why were they coming back now, was his magic trying to warn him about something maybe but if it was what could it be. It was while Merlin was thinking about this that the regular movements of his polishing slowly wore down his concentration and he slipped into another memory.

_linebreak_

When Merlin woke up the next morning it was to a clump of clothes being thrown at his head.

"Get up" said Galahad as Merlin slowly roses himself "the trainers will take no pity on you just because you're younger, trust us we thought they would are first day we figured out we were wrong real quick." The other two boys sleepily hummed in agreement. Once Merlin had climbed down off his bed he looked at the clothes that had been thrown at him they were of finer quality material than Merlin had seen in his whole life. Once he was dressed he noticed that the others were wearing the exact same thing, simple black breeches and comfortable leather riding boots, a grey tunic with King Urian's crest, a black wolf silhouetted on a blue background, stitches on it over his heart and finally a short blue cape that matched the crest and reached to the end of his back it had a deep cowl that when flipped up hid his entire face. As Merlin got washed and dressed he wondered how had the other boys gotten here sure he was captured in his village but that didn't mean the others were.

"Galahad, how did you Kay and Bedivere end up here?" Asked Merlin "I got kidnapped after King Urian and his men came by to take are villages men and I accidentally got caught using magic, so what happened to you." Galahad froze where he was and slowly turned to look at Merlin

"Well that is a very sad story for this time in the morning don't you think?" Asked Galahad nervously

"No, better to tell me now than later." Responded Merlin, Galahad had only known Merlin for a few hours but knew that there would be no stopping the questions so he finally said

"Originally I was a Druid in Cenred's kingdom but when I was four Camelot's knights came and destroyed my camp. Uther's men killed my family and friend everyone I had ever known, but somehow I escaped and ran into the woods. I ran for days until I came to Urian's land, when I arrived I continued to wander until I came across a patrol or Urian's men. They took me in and brought me to an orphanage near the capital, I was there for two weeks when these two idiots arrived. Until they came I was lonely and didn't talk to anyone, but when they came the three of us became inseparable. Then earlier this year the king's men came through to find children to be trained for the league or the army, the three of us volunteered and were accepted especially after they saw are magic." Galahad sighed when he finished his story he looked very melancholy.

"Galahad why are you sad?"asked Merlin finally.

"I'm missing my family Merlin." But when he turned his eyes that were looked so kind the night before burned with hatred. "But you want to know why they're gone?" He asked fiercely Merlin nodded. "Because stupid Uther Pendragon and his paranoid anti magic thoughts, honestly my people were peaceful why did he kill us! He tore my family apart WHY!" By the end of his rant he was shouting and pacing about the room, Merlin was cowering beneath the wash stand. Galahad stopped his rant when a firm hand fell on his arm.

"Enough" said Bedivere "Shoutings and pacing won't bring them back. Plus you've achieved the only thing you're going to achieve without bringing the guards down on our heads, you've scared Merlin half to death. Now before you can traumatize him further let's go they only serve breakfast for so long you know." With that he strode out of the room leaving Kay and Galahad to coax Merlin out of hiding.

_linebreak_

Merlin shook himself out of yet another memory. This one left a sense of foreboding in the pit of his stomach because even though things changed over his years there two things never changed he was the little brother, it didn't matter if he could take them down in under ten seconds he was two years younger and much smaller, and two Galahad HATED Uther, Camelot and anything to do with the Great Purge. Merlin shuddered to think what they would do if they found out that he left swearing to never kill again only to find that his destiny was to kill for Camelot and his future king.

 **A/N thanks for all the readers that followed, favorited and or reviewed it is all greatly appreciated anyway on to my note:**

 ***Just saying this idea isn't completely my own I took the basic idea which I then changed slightly from another assassin!merlin fic because I couldn't think of another logical excuse that was actually feasible, the fic is called The Forgotten Assassin by Shadowranger5225. It's quite a good fic even though it is unfortunately unfinished but if you don't mind that go check it out.**

 **Anyway as always Like it? Hate it? Leave a review, just no flames**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 **Disclaimer I don't own Merlin or any other property that appears in this fic**

 **A/N 1) sorry for not posting I apologize**

 **2) I was thinking of starting a series of one shots based on prompts from you guys with kid!merlin not necessarily assassin!merlin just either Merlin being younger than the canon or his childhood. I was wondering if you would like to read that so comment your thoughts.**

 **Anyway on with the fic**

As soon as practice ended Merlin stammered out an excuse and ran as fast as he could away from the knights so they could not ask anymore questions. Arthur may be a touch thick but he was not half as thick as Merlin always said and Leon, Lancelot and Percival were downright perceptive, if any of them caught on to any inconsistencies they would poke and prod until his entire story unravelled.

As Merlin ran the knights gathered and watched him run wondering why. Contrary to what Merlin said they weren't thick, for Merlin to panic and run like that the story had to be complete bullshit or there was more to it than that. Most of the knights were leaning toward the story just being complete bullshit including Lancelot. Though Lancelot thought it was just a bad story to cover up the use of magic but he wasn't so sure because there was no eye flash or incantation just reaction. The first to speak was Gwaine

"What's got him so spooked?! If that story was the truth or at least mostly the truth he wouldn't have run!" All the other knights but one had the same question on the tip of their tongues as well and that one was Lancelot.

Lancelot was desperately trying to think of something to cover Merlin's latest lie about his magic. It was magic right? Because wow Merlin could NOT lie to save his life, honestly that sort of knife skills from a week with a circus performer no way. It had to be magic and as Merlin's friend it was his job to cover for him, he hated lying to Arthur but Merlin was his friend first. So with a slightly heavy heart he gave his excuse.

"He's probably upset about talking about Will. It sounds like they were pretty close when they were kids and if Will only died a few years ago maybe he's still a bit unsettled talking about him. Especially since he was a sorcerer that probably makes it twice as difficult to talk about Will here in Camelot since we condemn sorcerers here." As he spoke he looked each knight in the eye to see if they believed him and they were all nodding along. With an inward sigh Lancelot lined up for the final blow

"Like think about how loyal Merlin is, think of his reaction if something happened to one of us. Either way think about it when has Merlin ever lied to us." He winced at that last bit thinking of all the times Merlin had lied that he knew about. Then he picked up his sword and walked off to take off his armor, after a few seconds he could hear the knights start to lumber after him and he sighed in relief, 'success' he thought sarcastically 'I'm getting better at lying'. Lancelot sighed he wished practice wasn't over because he needed to hit something.

_linebreak_

As Merlin ran away from the field he headed straight for the castle with his head down. Once ha got back to the castle he made a beeline for Gaius's chambers and his bed. He had maybe half an hour and he was dead on his feet maybe he could get half an hours sleep without any nightmares. As he laid his head on his pillow his last thought was about how unlikely that was and with that he drifted off to sleep.

 **A/N I apologize again for the wait. Anyway as always Like it? Hate it? Leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **Disclaimer I don't own Merlin or any other property that appears in this fic**

 **A/N Just started posting this on ao3 BTW**

Little Merlin was sitting on his bunk kicking his feet waiting for the boys to get back from supper it had been a long day of training and Merlin wasn't hungry. Not that he had done anything in training, no Merlin made no attempt in his training except for the things that would help after he left like reading, writing, control over his magic and basic healing. He thought that if he didn't succeed that the king would decide he wasn't worth the effort and send him home. To be honest Merlin was just homesick, he wanted Will his best friend, he wanted the other villagers even if they weren't always kind they were always there, he wanted the familiar sights and smells of his village, but most of all he wanted his mother. Merlin wanted his mother, he wanted her voice back when she sang to him at night, he wanted her to hold him and tell him that everything would be alright. As Merlin sat there sadly he did not notice the footsteps in the hallway until the door banged open and in walked Galahad, Bedivere and Kay. All three boys marched in glowering a at Merlin and Merlin shrank back into the wall.

Galahad was the first to speak "What is this!" He said waving a sheet of paper around in front of Merlin's face " These are the class listings and your last, I've seen you work outside of official practice and you're really good so why pray tell are you at the BOTTOM!"

Merlin stared at Galahad and the other two boys glaring at him he knew the answer he just didn't think they would so he shrugged and looked away.

"Did you just shrug this off!" Bedivere exploded "This isn't something to be taken lightly Merlin why aren't you trying!"

'Back again with that question are they?' Thought Merlin 'If they want to know so bad I'll tell them!'

"Maybe I just want to go home!" He exclaimed seeing the other boys shocked expressions he pushed on "Coming to the King Urian's court was a choice that you three made. Me, NO I was not given a choice I was brought chained from my home while all I wanted was for me and my mommy to still be at home with me learning how to read and writ. You chose to come here to learn how to kill but I only ended up here because of my stupid control on my powers." Merlin finished and slumped his shoulders forward.

"So you think failing will get you home" Said Galahad slowly, Merlin nodded sadly. They all sat in silence for a minute the older boys trying to think of a way to it to Merlin slowly and Merlin sat ashamed by his admission.

"Well that's stupid!" Said Bedevere suddenly "The only thing being at the bottom is going to do is get you killed!"

 **A/N Sorry for the wait and the cliffhanger. Anyway Like it? Hate it? Leave a review.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **A/N I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaalllllllllyyyyyy sorry about the wait I have another note at the bottom about it.**

"Wh-what do you mean it will get me killed?!" Said Merlin staring wildly at Kay, Merlin didn't want anything like that to happen, all he wanted was to go back to his mother.

Before the other boys could stop him Kay plowed on "Well when we reach the Harvest and Yule each year the bottom five boys of each year leave the league. They may not be officially executed but none of them make it past the gates." All of the boys look sad at that.

"But-but what do I do it's the harvest in two months how can I make it back to the top I'm so far behind. I didn't want any of this I just want to go home. I don't want to die I just want my home. I don't want to die, I don't want to die I don't want to die…" By this point Merlin was nearly catatonic rocking and crying and repeating that he didn't want to die. Galahad and Bedivere exchanged glances with each other and glares with Kay before Galahad finally made his offer.

"Merlin, we're pretty high in the class maybe we could help you." Galahad said this slowly while approaching him and sitting down next to the much smaller boy. Merlin looked up tears still tracing their way over his cheekbones.

"Really? Y-you'd do that for me?" Said Merlin because he had only known the boys for a few weeks.

"Yah," said Kay eager to get out of the whole he had dug himself with the others by scaring Merlin. "I'll teach you how to row a knife I was top of my class in that!"

"I can help in hand to hand combat." Said Bedivere quietly

"And I'll help with unseen movement and any other weapons training you need." Finished Galahad soothingly "You'll be fine"

They all waited a minute while Merlin finished crying and calmed down then his small voice said "when can we start?"

_linebreak_

Merlin jolted awake he should have known better than to expect an uninterrupted nap. He sat up quietly and rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. The sun was still high in the sky so he knew he hadn't slept for long and that also meant that he probably hadn't missed doing anything important for Arthur.

Merlin lay there a few minutes just thinking about that day in his dream, him and the other boys had been close before but that was when they really took Merlin under their wings as their pseudo little brother. Bedivere protected them, Kay kept them smiling and Galahad kept them in line. Merlin missed them but there was no way he could happen not after the way he left, sometimes the Knights helped to fill the hole that they left but it still hurt.

As he mulled that over a realization came to settle heavily in his mind, he had taken a nap in the middle of the day after running out on the knights and not telling them what was wrong, simply speaking Merlin was dead. He slumped back onto the bed groaning, he knew he should get up but facing Arthur and the knights was to much. Merlin was seriously considering just staying in bed that day when he heard Gaius calling for him from below him. He groaned again and rolled out of his bed and slowly descended the stairs rubbing his eyes.

"Yes Gaius what do you want?" Asked Merlin punctuating his question with a yawn. His eyes were still half closed when he heard Gwaine's sarcastic voice break through the sleepy fog in his brain.

"Are we waking you there mate, need a bit more time for your beauty sleep. I guess the princess is rubbing off on you." Merlin laughed and opened his eyes I front of him was Gwaine, he looked like he had just rolled out of bed himself. Merlin was about to comment when he noticed Lancelot standing behind Gwaine looking very neat in comparison but also out of his armour.

"No Gwaine the prat isn't rubbing off on me I was just tired is all. Is there a reason that you and Lancelot are dropping in for a visit?" Asked Merlin.

"Well me and Lancelot here-" "Lancelot and I." Interrupted Gaius moving across the room to put away some books.

"Oh I apologize for my horrendous breach of the rules of grammar I shall-" said Gwaine pompously stopping suddenly when Lancelot stepped forward and punched him in the side.

"What Gwaine meant to say, is that we were wondering if anything was wrong. You ran from practice pretty quickly today." Said Lancelot diplomatically while gently pushing Geaine back behind him. After Lancelot was done Gaius turned turned to look at him one eyebrow crawling up to meet his hairline. Merlin quickly shifted his gaze away from the prying eyes of his friends and mentor.

"It's nothing, I just don't enjoy talking about Will is all." Merlin finally said, more than a bit uncomfortable with the careful questioning.

"Bullocks!" Exclaimed Gwaine, Lancelot whipped his head around to stare wide eyed at Gwaine for his sudden angry outburst but didn't try to stop him, "You wouldn't stop talking cause of that now what's bothering you! Plus you would have told me you had some sort of skill with weapons" At this point Merlin was just about done with the Interogation from his friends and mentor so suddenly his control burst and his voice exploded out of him and he saw red.

"You know what Gwaine you say that but how well do you really know me, hmm? You didn't even know I had a friend named Will before today! How do you, a knight that has been here a few months and that I had spent maybe 2 weeks tops with before hand, expect to know every upsetting trigger that I have! You nothing about my life before coming to Camelot, you know that I was poor, that I am from a farming village called Elador that's it! For gods sakes sakes what is my mother's name! As for the assumption that I would have told you about everything, you don't know anything! You didn't know that I'm a bastard, that I nearly starved several times during my childhood because we were so poor, you didn't know that I was bullied as child about my ears to my father or rather my lack of one, you didn't know about my m-" he stopped his rant no that was not the way to reveal his magic to Gwaine.

"-others health issues a few years ago." He finished lamely after a slight pause,

thinking of the incident with the questing beast a few years ago health issues indeed. But as his head started to clear he looked at the faces surrounding him Lancelot was staring at him in shock mouth hanging open, Gaius was staring his eyesbrows furled and raised to his hairline and worst of all he was staring at Merlin in shock but it was different from the shock on Lancelot's face Lancelot looked shocked at the fact that Merlin had shouted, Gwaine on the other hand looked like Merlin had just punched him in the stomach, he looked shocked and hurt that Merlin react like that.

Merlin's heart was beating in his ears he was breathing heavily but as he calmed down he felt worse and worse he hadn't lost control of his feelings like that he was so lucky that he hadn't destroyed the room with a hurricane or something, secondly the look on Gwaine face was killing him, he started to step forward and opened his mouth to apologize but Gwaine turned tail and ran. Merlin watched him helplessly and started to move toward the door when Lancelot reached out to stop him Merlin shook his hand and said "I need some air." And left in search of Gwaine.

 **A/N I am so sorry about the wait! I really don't have any particular reason for why I'm late writing this but it makes me feel better about posting late if you get a explanation so yeah here you go. So I tried to get this written and I would sit down to type but I couldn't get the words that I wanted out on paper. At first I was writing this really awkward scene between Merlin and Arthur but I couldn't get it out so yeah then one day I decided to write it with Lancelot and Gwaine and that worked better but even so I could only get like a sentence out at a time but then last night my wifi broke so I just sat down and got it out and this is coming out so late cause the guy could come in until the morning when I was at school so this didn't get posted till after school and my school ends at around 2:15ish so I'm not home till 2:45ish cause of buses and shit and that's all in a somewhere in Canada time zone so yeah. Aswell I always hated jot notes in English class but I know respect the jot note so much I didn't have a plan set out for this fic so that didn't particularly help with me stuck with my writing so now I have a rough plan for the fic. Anyway sorry for the wait but as always Like it? Hate it? Leave a review. Just please no flames.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **A/N hey hope you enjoy. I've corrected the spelling and grammar on the previous chapters so if my wifi is being operative they will be updated soon after this.**

Once he left Gaius's chambers he started to run after the knight, unfortunately, Gwaine was faster than he was and outran him by the time they reached the courtyard. Quickly asked a passing maid where Gwaine had went and she said that Gwaine was headed to the lower town, he thanked her quickly and set off at a sprint out of the citadel. As he ran through the lower town he kept asking the townspeople which way Gwaine had gone they all directed him towards the gaits so he took off at a run towards the entrance to Camelot. Once he was through the gate there was no way of knowing what way Gwaine had gone so he quickly checked that no one was watching and quickly cast a tracking spell and followed Gwaine into the forest.

Eventually, Merlin found him he was sitting by the side of a stream looking into the water moodily.

Gwaine didn't acknowledge Merlin until he was on the bank beside him then Gwaine swung around to face him his eyes hard.

"Here to shout a bit more are we." Gwaine spat, and Merlin's heart fell to his boots. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Gwaine I'm sorry, I've been really stressed recently and I took it out on you." Merlin apologized, but Gwaine just stared at him in disbelief.

"Sorry? You're sorry you think that after that you can just come down here and try to patch it up with five measly letters! After that rant about how awful a friend I am for not prying into all your touchy secrets, for not walking up to you and asking 'hey Merlin I'm interested could you tell me every little tiny piece of information about your apparently tragic without you telling me anything first.' As for me being concerned and poking around to try and help that's called being a good friend maybe you've heard of it." Gwaine suddenly snapped, Merlin looked down at the water ashamed. He just wanted to talk with Gwaine, no with anyone about his past but they would just turn their back on him if they knew, Merlin just knew it. As a last ditch attempt to make up with Gwaine he begged:

"I'm really sorry Gwaine, I mean it! What could I do to make it up to you!" Gwaine looked over at him then opened his mouth to respond:

"I want to know what's wrong. What has been bothering you, why you ran from practice, where those sudden freakish knife skills came from, everything. You accuse me of being a bad friend for not knowing things well here's your chance to fix things." Merlin hesitated he didn't want to lose Gwaine a friend but it looks like Gwaine wasn't about except anything but the full truth.

"Well, you wanna know what has been bothering me well I haven't been sleeping well because of dreams, well more like nightmares, about my past." Merlin paused hoping that, but Gwaine had other I dead as he turned his head and looked at Merlin expectantly his eyes still hard. Merlin internally sighed he couldn't tell Gwaine so he went to try bluffing his way out of it again.

"Well I wasn't lying earlier about how I learned but I hide it because I don't want anyone else to get hurt." He paused for a moment to do his to look best haunted and sad which was easier than it should have been, and while continuing to look in the water he pressed on:

"So I was about ten and Will and I were in the woods practicing with our knives. Will had to go back to the village earlier than usual but I stayed behind to keep practicing it was nearly dark so I started to head back to the village but I came across a bandit lying in wait on the rough path ahead of me and he started to come toward me. The next thing knew my body was falling back on the movements I had practiced a thousand times before I threw the knife straight into his throat. To this day I don't know how he didn't just dodge it, maybe he was in shock that a kid was trying to kill him but either way the knife struck him in the neck and he crumpled to the ground bleeding out on the forest floor. Soon after I threw the knife I curled up just off the path and listened to him take his dying breath, once I was sure that he was dead I crept out onto the path and pulled my knife out of his neck and took to a nearby river and cleaned the knife then I just kept walking home. I never told anybody not Gaius, not Will, not even my mother. After that, I didn't practice as much but I still kept up with until I came to Camelot, but once I came here I stopped there were too many memories involved with them." He finished not once looking at Gwaine. Ha was so ashamed couldn't look at him the lie was huge sure yes he had killed like that before but those had been cold-blooded murders, this was some sort of fictional story about how he had killed someone in self-defence as an innocent child he had been the farthest thing from innocent when he was ten.

"Really, I thought you were going to tell me the truth this time." Came Gwaine's voice interrupting his thoughts Merlin's head whipped up and he stared at Gwaine in disbelief. Gwaine's face was still cold and angry as he glared at Merlin.

"If you aren't going to tell me the truth you could just tell me that rather then coming up with a lie that sounds so fake. Honestly 'Soon after I threw the knife I curled up just off the path and listened to him take his dying breath' nobody talks like that. If it had happened you would have said I killed somebody in self-defense not a ballad of remorse towards the loss of your innocence and the loss of life that took place that day. As well you act so unemotionally the whole time your Merlin you always have expression on your face, honestly do you think I'm stupid." Gwaine said in annoyance, Merlin ducked his head but he had hoped that that Gwaine would buy that looking back he had been a bit overzealous.

Merlin sighed he had hoped it wouldn't come to this but he knew deep down that he had to tell Gwaine, he was tired of hiding it he just wanted to share the burden with someone else. He took a deep breath and said:

"Ok I'll tell you but we need to move we're too close to the castle someone might hear us. Come on I know a place." Then Merlin stood up and started walking Gwaine scrambled up and followed.

 **A/N Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As Merlin scrambled through the undergrowth his mind raced coming up with excuses and stories that were dismissed as soon as they came up. No he wouldn't lie to Gwaine, it was clear that even if he wanted to he wouldn't be able to. Gwaine would hear the truth, from beginning to end and who knows maybe then Merlin would feel better about it. He made his final decision just as they broke through the trees and were left gazing out over the lake of Avalon. Without looking back Merlin walked to the shore and sat not looking back and not reacting when Gwaine settled down next him. Merlin took a deep breath and prepared to speak.

"I don't know what I am going to tell you, I don't know how or where I am going to start but let me assure you everything I am about to say is the truth." Throughout his short speech Merlin still hadn't looked at Gwaine and remained rigid as he stared out over the water.

"I grew up in a small farming village on the edge of Cenred's kingdom. I was the bastard child of a poor woman so I wasn't treated very well, despite this I was happy we had just enough food on the table and I was loved. This all changed when I was five. It was just after the harvest and a contingent of men on horseback trouped into our village, at the lead was a king. The village stopped what they were doing and looked on in shock, the king called for silence saying that he was King Urian and he was looking for men and boys to join his army. Naturally my village said no. What right did this man have to our families? We were citizens of Cenred's kingdom not his. Soon after we pointed this out he sighed and simply told the guards to grab any man or boy who looked eligible. Of course our village scattered like sheep when faced with a wolf and in the confusion I was seperated from my mother and knocked down. As I fell I did something, I don't want you to judge me when I tell you just listen." Merlin took a deep breath and prepared to spill his secrets when Gwaine interrupted him and said,

"Just get on with it mate, your just building up suspense here." Merlin just sighed and continued.

"I did magic Gwaine I have magic." It was only then that Merlin finally looked at Gwaine. Gwaine was sitting staring at Merlin with a strangely blank expression on his face, Merlin sat fidgeting wait for the reaction he believed was coming fear, anger and hatred. What he got instead was a giggle. Merlin's head whipped around and stared and the tremors racking Gwaine's body and the tears of mirth coming to his eyes.

"It all makes sense now!" Gwaine half shouted when he finally had his body under control, Merlin continued to stare on in shock as his friend did the exact opposite of what he expected.

"The random falling branches, the weird sudden skills, the misdirected arrows and spears, the fire in the slavers lair and you making it through almost every fight unhurt without any armour." Gwaine continued, with each sentence Merlin's stomach dropped slightly he knew he wasn't that subtle but did all the knights know. Seeing Merlin's fear Gwaine hurriedly covered.

" Don't worry I only noticed because I actually bother watching my surroundings and you while I fight, the others are all too thickheaded to notice you during fights. Except for maybe Lancelot." Merlin relaxed at that.

"It's ok if Lancelot notices he's known almost since we first met." Seeing Gwaine's slightly hurt face he quickly added.

"I didn't tell him he found out because of the griffin." This left Gwaine with a strangely bemused expression on his face.

"Now there's a story I'll have to hear eventually, but now continue with your story." Gwaine appeared appeased and much happier now that Merlin was being on the level with him but Merlin was sure that it could snap at any moment.

"Once I arrived at the King's court I was assigned to the… assassins guild." Once again Merlin paused and checked his friends reaction, Gwaine appeared a bit shocked and it looked like things were starting to add up in mind.

"When I arrived I was assigned a room with three other boys. They're names were Galahad, Kay and Bedivere. Kay was a lot like you always laughing and joking, Bedivere was more like Percival I guess strong, large and silent but Galahad was my best friend. He was like Lancelot with a bit of Arthur, kind and loyal to his friends but to his enemies he was brutal and merciless and held long hard grudges. He had magic aswell, he was a Druid and his camp was massacred by Uther as a child he hated Camelot and Uther for that. All three of them had come of their own accord to be trained from an orphanage in Urian's kingdom. They were all seven and I was a scrawny five year old the youngest trainee ever, they adopted me as their younger brother and protected me from the older boys when they could." Here Merlin paused thinking back on his childhood before the missions and the death, then he plunged back into his story.

"When I arrived I didn't want to learn to kill I just wanted to go home and I figured that if I was bad enough at what they were teaching me they would let me go so I only tried when they taught me how to use my magic or to read and write. About two months before the harvest when the boys confronted me about it they then told that the worst boys of each year are cut and released at the Harvest and the Yule, but even though the King may have released them they will become the first kills of the top bays in the year before they reach the gates. With their help I picked up the slack then and worked my way to near the top of the listings and survived the first cut, I hated it but I did it to survive." Here Merlin took another breather to think about his time at King Urian's court and how to explain it to Gwaine.

"I guess the next thing to tell you about is my first kill."


End file.
